


look up for love

by beetime



Category: Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood & Manga
Genre: Fluff, M/M, Pining, Stargazing, greed loves torturing ling cause of his crush sksks
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-10
Updated: 2019-03-10
Packaged: 2019-10-27 06:44:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,547
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17761799
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/beetime/pseuds/beetime
Summary: Whatever. The point is, all in all, that it really is teenage drama; unimportant. It’s normal but not appropriate due to the circumstances. So what if Ed has eyes like gold and Ling sometimes gets through the hours of being backseat to his own body by trying to count the sun-borne freckles on his nose? So what if despite everything, Ed still considers them friends and talks to him like nothing’s different? So what if when they have nightmares—So what, so what, so what.





	look up for love

**Author's Note:**

> u give me a demon,,, u give me a happy boy,,,, u give my an angry boy,,, u expect me not to do something w that? i have no impulse control. nada. fucking zero.

They keep Ling’s eyes open with neither of them really controlling anything. That’s new, honestly, the action of just letting the body be the body for them to sit back on equal ground and talk.

It’s strange. But Ling finds he doesn’t mind as much as he thinks he should.

“Which one’s the snake again?” Greed muses and Ling can see him flick a forked tongue in his direction. Ling kicks at it, which just makes him spin around in all the red before he can settle back down.

He speaks over Greed’s snickering, hands on his knees, “Serpens isn’t visible here. It’s over Xing, starting in Shilie and finishing in Rutian. It does kind of look like that part of Aquarius, though,” and uses one arm to trace the path of the constellation he was talking about.

Greed shifts, turning smaller to give the semblance of bumping into Ling’s shoulder, “ _Boo_ , how am I supposed to be interested in the stars when they have nothing to do with me?”

Ling shoves at him, “You asked for this, Greed. You asked for bonding, I’m giving you bonding.”

Greed rears back, gaping at him and spluttering, “Huh? I never asked for _bonding_ —“

“We live in the same head,” Ling cuts in flatly, smirking. He hadn’t asked, not in so many words, but when they were trudging through the forest and Ling would take over in short bursts every so often to point out a useful plant or animal he recognizes, either from being imported to Xing or from his books, he could feel Greed’s slight irk not actually directed at the fact Ling had control.

It got stronger when night fell and Ling came out even more often for the stars, keeping them on track.

Greed scoffs at the memory. He gives a short laugh, “Well, I mean, if I’m gonna rule the world one day, I gotta be world-savvy, don’t I?

“You really can make all the excuses you want, but you could’ve just picked up a book when we were in town—“

“Why would I do that when I have my own little servant to teach me?”

Ling pinches the side of his body’s thigh, which hurts him, but annoys Greed more. He throws himself against Ling’s arm, “Hey! Watch the merchandise!”

“So since that’s Aquarius down there,” Ling finally continues, “we’ve got Pegasus a little higher up.”

“The hell’s a pegasus?”

Ling mimes wings with his hands, “A horse with wings. It’s in a lot of Amestrian fairytales.”

Greed makes a low noise of thought. “So a chimera?”

Ling squints. His mind had a hard time making the connection between the human-animal chimeras they have currently sleeping a few feet away with a creature usually associated with celestial gods.

Right, animal-animal.

“Yeah, I guess so.” At the responding emotion, Ling hooks his hands behind his head to lean back, smirk getting wider, “Feeling a little prideful, there, Greed?”

“Ah, shut up, kid. What’s the one next to it,” he motions lazily toward the next section of brighter stars, “An-somethin’ or whatever the fuck—“.

Ling has to dig back in his memory to remember the name too. “Andromeda. She was a princess who was so beautiful her mother, Queen Cassiopeia, who’s right there,” he had to crane his neck back to point closer to the apex of the sky, “made the very dick move of saying her daughter was more beautiful than _anything_. One of the gods didn’t like that so he tied her up near the ocean and sent a sea serpent to kill her.

“She was saved by,” he drags his finger across the sky for a second before finding it, “Perseus.”

“And here I thought it was about to get interesting,” Greed hums. “Let’s say I’m the sea serpent in that one. Except I succeed.”

Greed had made the habit of identifying himself as people in the stories because he, quote unquote, _couldn't be interested in something if it didn't directly involve him._ Sure. Ling snorts, “More like the queen. The story warns about hubris and even though that’s not really your field, you have a lot of it.”

“You’re very obviously the princess, so are you implying I’m going to get you eaten by a giant snake?” Greed says, only like he’s half-joking. Which is preposterous, due to their situation.

“Even if you managed to, there’s still a Perseus in the situation,” he sniffs. He leans back because Greed gives him a very pointed look and Ling, pardon the Amestrian influence to his inflection, doesn’t care for that shit at all. “And you say that as if you wouldn’t get us killed in a similar situation. And _and_ , if I’m very obviously the princess, then—“

He pauses. He raises an eyebrow at Greed directly, “Well, I mean, technically, I ate you.”

Greed rears his head back, gasps. “Bitch, _huh?”_

Ling barks a laugh and Greed seems to catch his drift because he stops growing bigger but no less offended, yelling that that was _not_ the case or what happened _at all_.

Of course, Ling should know better than to stay quiet for so long. It gives Greed time to think, of all things, and he stops speaking abruptly to give a knife-like smile. There really isn’t any other type of smile, with him, but this time it’s especially sharp.

“Dear Ling, while we’re on the subject, got anyone in mind for Perseus?”

“A knife to my heart,” Ling responds dryly.

Greed snickers, “Kinky. Would you like me to inform Edward of that now or la—“

Ling lunges for him and strangles the approximation of his throat. It does make him choke until he escapes and Ling has to chase after him. He finally just jumps on top of him, effectively trapping him face down to the metaphysical ground of the mindscape.

Greed wouldn’t say anything. He gives a reason, of course, _I’m high above this teenage human drama, but boy if it ain’t entertaining,_ and Ling lets that be. It’s not a lie, if not a lie by omission since Ling’s sure it’s also due to the fact that as much of an asshole as Greed was, he was also… Was _developing_ the right word?

Maybe.

Whatever. The point is, all in all, that it really _is_ teenage drama; unimportant. It’s normal but not appropriate due to the circumstances. So what if Ed has eyes like gold and Ling sometimes gets through the hours of being backseat to his own body by trying to count the sun-borne freckles on his nose? So what if despite everything, Ed still considers them friends and talks to him like nothing’s different? So what if when they have nightmares—

So what, so what, so what.

“That’s poetic, not gonna lie,” Greed mumbles and Ling digs his elbow further into his back.

“I’ll get into what I think of his _mouth_ next, so get ready, idiot—“

Something pokes the—his body in the side. A foot. They stop struggling and look up as one.

Moon-gold eyes, amused with a dash of concerned. His hair’s down and he should really do that more often.

Greed coos, “Let’s let him know that, shall we—“

Ling ceases control before Greed can even think too, jerking upright. He shakes out his head, touching his temple, “Ed. Hey.”

“Ling,” Ed says, not a question but an affirmation to himself, and he grins as he plops himself down next to Ling with one leg bent to lean his arm on. “You okay? You looked like you were having a hard time in there.”

**You are so lucky I’m laughing too hard to talk, kid, I could’ve made the greatest joke.**

“Just a squabble between bodymates, nothing to worry about,” he responds airily, waving a hand in dismissal.

Ed snorts and it tapers off into a snicker but Ling shouldn’t find it adorable at his damn expense, “You say that as if it’s normal.”

“We say a lot of things as if they’re normal, Ed. Our normal isn’t exactly the standard for the word, in case you haven’t noticed. Unless you know others whose travel companions include two human chimeras and an especially angry gnome—"

“Har har,” Ed deadpans. “You’re a fucking comedian. We should start seeing if we can sign you up in bars to make some extra money. Call me short one more time and I'm popping your head off, homunculus or not."

Ling examines his nails with as much Greed-like haughtiness as he can muster, ignoring the last part, “I don’t know. Could they afford me?”

Ed opens and closes his mouth ( **Yes, a very, very nice mouth, I get it, don’t start** ), before scrunching his nose, “Considering I’ve had to pay for you, fuck no. Scratch that idea.”

“I’m a luxury, Edward.”

“Yeah. I’m seeing ‘Xingese pain in the ass’ becoming a very big trend with the higher class in the near future.”

 **Ling, give me the vocal chords for a second, just one second** _,_ and Ling actually does have to fight to keep the words Greed wants to force out down. The struggle must show on his face because Ed stops leering. “Greed giving you trouble?”

“No, it’s fine. I’ve got it under control.”

**Only because I’m letting you. I’ll get my revenge.**

“You two seemed fine a second ago. What were you doing?”

**Talking about how your ass reminds him of two very round apples.**

Ling crosses his legs, and smacks both hands down onto his knees to keep from punching himself in the face. He answers through grit teeth, “Naming the constellations.”

Ed blinks and gives a loud laugh, “You were _star-gazing_ with Greed?”

“He requested it,” Ling says with not a small level of satisfaction as Greed squawks his protests. He lets the side of his mouth lift.

“Cute,” Ed says with _something_ in his voice and Ling can’t really help jerking his head to look at him how he does because come _on_. Ed blinks at him and gives another laugh, one hand darting up to rub at the back of his neck, “That Greed would suggest it. I used the wrong inflection. I’m tired.”

Right. Right. Of course. That makes sense. Get it together, Ling.

**You’re killing me, here, kid.**

_Wouldn’t that be a dream._

Ling lets his head fall to the side, raising an eyebrow, “Why don’t you go to sleep then?”

“Already tried that,” Ed says and leans his chin against his forearm. “Doesn’t look like I’m winning that fight tonight. Too much in my head and that never ends well.”

“Don’t I know it,” Ling responds without quite realizing what he means until it’s out. He meets Ed’s wide eyes and after a beat, they burst out laughing, having to muffle it behind their hands since Darius and Heinkel were still snoring.

**Frankly, offensive.**

Ling gets a breath in, “You deserve it.”

**You’re supposed to be the good one, princeling. Your little golden boy’s a bad influence.**

“Right, he’s the bad influence,” he mutters and finally manages to calm down.

Ed does too and pokes at Ling’s forehead, “Hey, Greed, if you’ve got something to say, say it to my face.”

**I’m _trying_ , believe me.**

“He says he’s too cowardly to,” Ling says knowingly. Greed snarls and Ling concedes because it’s actually been a pleasant night and he’s not really in the mood to fight. “Which, yes, yes I’m joking about.”

“I dunno, sounds like him,” Ed yawns and lets himself fall on his back, stretching his arms out above him. He lets them drop. It makes his shirt ride up, and isn’t that just fucking something.

**You’re drooling.**

_You’re annoying_.

**I’m a delight and you’re still drooling.**

Ling lets himself fall back too with an exasperated sigh, dragging his hands over his face. No, he isn’t actually drooling, thank you very much.

He focuses on the center star of Andromeda, brighter than all the rest. Both he and Greed are trying to find the shape of the princess where the stars intertwine. Ling can feel them thinking in tandem.

He drifts off toward Perseus on his own accord. That really can’t possibly be the shape of a man no matter how you look at it. Whoever was in charge of christening the constellations must have truly been reaching to keep all those concerned with each other together.

Not that he minds, really. It makes it easier to tell the stories and though he doesn’t know the rest of that one, maybe Andromeda and Perseus lived happily ever after or some bullshit like that.

Well. Maybe Ed was influencing him a _little_ bit.

“That’s Perseus, right?” Ed says and his voice almost sounds like lightning in the night-quiet. Ling tries to remember back when the annoying parts of his tone were just that, annoying, and not _endearing_ of all things, because if there was one thing Edward Elric’s voice shouldn’t be, it’s endearing.

And yet.

Ling nods. He darts his eyes toward Ed briefly but he’s looking up again. His eyes are filled with stars that make them look like twin cups of dawn. He wants to drink from them, drown in them.

Another thought comes up, Greed-colored, and Greed doesn’t apologize so much as shrug and confirm it.

Ling settles back. No more looking at Ed, then. “How did you know?”

Ed doesn’t answer for a second. “Hohenheim had a star map in his office. My mom liked it so she took it out and hung it on the wall in the kitchen instead.” He shifts. Ling crosses his arms over his chest. It’s rare he talks about his father, let alone his mother unless it was between in the vulnerable spaces after nightmares.

“When we couldn’t sleep, she would take us outside with the map and a blanket and start naming all the constellations we could see from our field. She would make this dark blueberry tea she’d get from the town over and say it was pieces of the night sky come down to help us sleep. We finally would knock out, eventually, and she would roll Al and me up in the blanket and take us back inside to sleep with her.”

Ling gets the image of tiny Ed and Al, practically twins from what they’d seen in the pictures back in Rusembul, eyes drooping as their mother spoke them softly into sleep.

“How ‘bout you?” Ling risks a glance. Ed’s looking back, and there’s the drooping he’d thought about, punctuated by a yawn. “Just good ol’ princely teachings?”

Ling has to let himself grin. He makes a so-so sign, “Some of it. Astrology is very big in Xingese culture. It was a sort of necessity to know the bare minimum. Fu taught me astronomy because if I ever got lost or kidnapped and managed to escape, I would be able to look up and guide myself back home.”

“Oh,” Ed says.

Ling laughs quietly, “It’s not as bad as it sounds. I liked it, he could tell I liked it. I guess it was sort of like with you and Al. Lan Fan and I would spending hours on the roof of her house identifying all the Xingese constellations we could, and when we ran out, we moved on to Amestrian legends.”

He doesn’t know if he can say what he’s thinking. Then he goes back and tells himself that’s stupid and this is Ed. His best friend.

“They might be some of my best memories,” he continues, silent to match the forest. Ed’s looking at him but Ling knows he will _not_ be able to do it now. Not feeling like an open wound as he is. “Lan Fan’s just my sister in them, really. No guarding, no titles. She would call me Ling and elbow me when I made stupid comments about the shapes. I could even go up alone, sometimes, and she wouldn’t tell Fu. I would just stay up there for hours looking at the sky. I just wanted to... I don't know. I wanted to feel like that again."

"That's..." 

"Dumb, I know," Ling finishes for him. He motions a hand around uselessly before dropping it. He's not sure what he can say. It's a childish thought, trying to go back tot he past, as if he didn't have a monumental future to focus on instead—

Something—

Ed. Touches his hand.  _Grabs it, holds it_ in his  _own_.

Ling doesn't startle but he feels his heart stop.

**I'm out.**

"It's not dumb," Ed says resolutely and against his better judgement, Ling looks, because he's weak, and Ed is holding his  _hand_. His cheeks are purple with the blue of the night and the red of his blush. He's purple and gold and looking very much like a boy in a way Ling can't describe. 

"It's not dumb," he repeats, his voice shaking a bit. He swallows so his Adam's apple bobs and Ling feels himself echo the sentiment. Ed's eyes  _flicker down toward it._ He squeezes Ling's hand, almost involuntarily, "It's not. I was just gonna say— if you wouldn't  _interrupt me_ _—"_ they're close, too, too close, Ling can feel the _warmth_ radiating off him when he flushes anew, "that it's— I understand. You."

Ling thinks his voice might be floating away from him. "Oh." It disappears into the air as soon as it passes his lips.

Ed doesn't look away. He also doesn't let go. Ling thinks his hand might be getting clammy and he should let go, it'll be sweaty and gross soon enough, but he can't bring himself to and neither, apparently, can Ed.

"This, um," he doesn't have to clarify what  _this_ is, but does it anyway, squeezing again so Ling's breath hitches. The unwavering thing in his eyes finally dims so he looks nervous, suddenly, but golden all the same. "This okay?"

Ling feels like laughing. Only a little bit of it escapes him and he nods once, to Ed's obvious surprise, "Yes. Yeah, it is."

Ed's mouth (his mouth, his mouth, loud and abrasive, but so _kind_ , so  _endearing_ ) parts slightly, tongue darting out momentarily to lick his bottom lip. His face glows even brighter when his eyes grow wider and he finally looks away, down to the ground, mumbling, "And... Greed?"

Ling tries not to sound desperate when he speaks. He's not sure if he succeeds or not because it all rushes out at once.

"Not here."

And Ling should've expected it, because Ed is a being made up badly put together impulse and gumption, and he  _knows this_ , he  _knows Ed_ , but it's still surprising when he  _dives forward_ \--

He kisses him. In the most uncoordinated fashion humanly possibly, noses mashing together and teeth clacking and the angle's  _terrible,_ honestly, it couldn't really be worse.

Yet Ling's able to get  _into it_. He fixes the angle and Ed gets closer so their necks aren't straining toward each other and Ling opens his eyes to gold and grass and stars. It's still night cold, the dampness of midnight seeping into his coat, but it's curling the stray hairs framing Ed's face perfectly and Ling pulls back while he puts a hand on his cheek. Just to keep him still. present. He looks like he could go away any second, made up of nothing but Ling's hopefulness.

"Well," Ling says, breathless. Ed snorts. His mouth is pink and smiling so make his dimples deep enough for Ling's thumb to fit in one perfectly. He pushes in and Ed moves his head to kiss his finger, cheeks miraculously going hotter right there under Ling's touch.

Ed pulls him closer and moves to bite instead because of Ling's snort. "Don't patronize me after out first kiss, Ling Yao."

"Wouldn't dream of it, sunshine," Ling responds, the name sliding out like it'd always been waiting at the tip of his tongue and Ed laughs, sounding like it. "How about after our second, though?"

Ed tilts his head. He smirks. "I dunno. Why don't we try it out?"

Ling doesn't. Not even after their third, their fourth, their seventh, until he's getting too tired for it and he just lays his head against Ed's, now stroking his sides where his hands've migrated.

"I really didn't think that would even work," Ed murmured. "I'd test-run it so many times in my head then I just-- Weeks of planning, dumped out the fucking window."

"You would treat something like this like one of your alchemic endeavors, Edward," Ling sniffs with too much fondness in his voice.

Ed waves the hand he has intertwined with Ling's around, "We're all just atoms. Everything's technically an alchemic endeavor."

Ling grins. Even though his eyes can't even open anymore, he presses one last kiss to the corner of Ed's mouth ans whispers, "Let's tackle the endeavor of sleeping, then, okay?" and Ed nods.

 

Greed lets himself in but doesn't open the eyes because he knows what's happening without sight. Even Ling's form inside their head is sleeping, curled around the faint red outline of one Edward Elric.

He has the fleeting thought that had this come earlier, he would wake up and walk away anyway.

Whatever. He was tired too.

"G'night," he mutters, "dumbass kids."

**Author's Note:**

> there done no more fma in the forseeable future BAM


End file.
